Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts

An orange-flavored cream cheese mixture fills a miniature sugar cookie cup and is topped with fresh and delicious glazed fruit.

Since I kind of dropped the ball with Easter-related treats this year, I’ve got plenty of Mother’s Day ideas and I’m starting early! Easter completely creeped up on me! I mean, I guess that’s what happens when you are moving internationally, adjusting to a new time schedule, and trying to get settled into a new place all while spending lots of time with family that’s local and you haven’t seen too much of in the past few years. I kept thinking, Easter is in a couple of weeks, I’ve got time.

And then all of the sudden Easter has come and gone and there was a serious lack of cutesy chick-decorated treats on the blog. Next year I’m doubling the Easter-themed foods so count on it!

But now it’s all about Mother’s Day. Oh and Cinco de Mayo is even before then, so don’t worry I’ve got some deeelish celebratory food planned for this holiday too!

And these are seriously the perfect little bites for a Mother’s Day treat. They are miniature, bursting with flavor, and beautifully colored. I mean, fresh berries, could they make a dessert any prettier?!

When you are making cookie cups, there are a few tips to make sure they come out the right size and can be easily removed from the muffin tin.

• Grease the muffin tin really well. I also like to put a little bit of flour on top of the greasing just to help with the removal.
• Less cookie dough is better. If you have tons of cookie dough, your tart will taste like one thick cookie. I like to fill up the muffin tin about halfway with a rolled ball of dough. It’s a small ball of dough, but it will rise and then the center will get indented making it even larger (but with less overall cookie dough becoming a dense bottom.) If you are concerned about having the perfect sized tart, try a few trials baking 1-2 balls before using all of your cookie dough in the muffin tin and getting the wrong size.
• Remove the cookies from the muffin tin almost immediately. Remove the cookies from the oven, press in the centers (I use the back of a teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon), and then immediately begin working to get them out. I work around the cookies with a butter knife, and slowly coax them out with a spoon. In my experience, the longer I wait to pull out the cookies from the muffin tin, the worse they come out. If they “harden” or cool in the muffin tin, they are near impossible to pull out in one piece. (This is also because you have pressed the dough down to form a cup)
• Before the cookies have fully cooled, place them all in a large Zip-loc bag. Seal the bag with a tiny bit of heat in them and this will keep your sugar cookies ultra soft. No more hard sugar cookies!

Okay, your mom is so ready to enjoy these on her day already!

5 from 1 vote

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Sugar Cookie Fruit Tarts

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Miniature sugar cookie tarts with cream cheese filling and glazed fruit topping

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24 miniature tarts

Author: Chelsea, lightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Cups

• 1 package (17.5 ounces) Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix, + ingredients called for

Orange Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
• 1 large orange (2 tablespoons orange juice and 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon orange extract, optional
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Topping

• Fresh fruit and berries, for topping (such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mandarin oranges, kiwi, etc.)
• 1/3 cup apricot or orange jam
• 3/4 tablespoon water

Instructions

The cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease + lightly flour a miniature muffin tin.

2. Prepare the sugar cookie dough according to package directions. 

3. Roll balls of dough that will fill the miniature muffin tin 1/2th the way full. Press into the muffin tin and slightly indent the center and press the dough up the sides.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. (This time will obviously vary based on how much dough you have in the muffin tin so watch carefully)

5. Remove and press the centers down gently with a teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon. Do not allow too much time to cool as they get harder to pull out.

6. I like to begin coaxing them out immediately after indenting the center. Use a butter knife to trace around the edges and then help you gently coax out the cookie cup.
7. Once they are out, further indent the center.
8. Let cool most of the way and then place in a large Zip-loc bag and seal the bag. This retains a tiny bit of the heat and keeps these cookies ultra-soft.

The filling:

1. Beat the cream cheese until soft and creamy (make sure it is softened first.) Beat in the sour cream, the juice + zest, vanilla extract, and orange extract if desired.

2. Beat in the powdered sugar.

3. Place in the fridge for at least 25 minutes.

Putting together

1. Spoon the filling into the sugar cookie cups.

2. Place fruit of choice on top.

3. Combine the jam and water in a small microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. With a pastry brush, brush the jam over the top of the tart.

4. Best enjoyed within a few hours after making to ensure the sugar cookies don't get soggy 🙂 

Recipe Notes

Read the tips in the last paragraph for best results! I tried to scatter them throughout the instructions, but they are in greater depth there.

More delicious treats:

Almond Joy Thumbprint Cookies

Thin Mint Cookie Cups

5-Ingredient Sorbet Slice